Dear Coker Family,

In 2020, Coker University faced challenges that left other institutions to shutter. Many institutions in higher education are still being carried along by those same forces today. In recognizing these headwinds, Coker has spent the last few years doing the hard work necessary to lay the foundation for the next chapter. We have restructured departments to serve our students better, we have optimized our academic programming based on student and market demand (for example, creating a new health professions school which enrolled more than 200 students within three years), and we created fiscally sound budgets to ensure stability. 

With a strong strategic plan built on a commitment to mission, staff and faculty creativity, and care for our students, Coker is not simply drifting with the current - we are charting our own course and successfully rowing together. Because of that unity, we are beginning to thrive through increased enrollment, athletic success, record grant awards, and renovated student spaces.

Through the lens of our 2025–2028 Strategic Plan: Mastering Knowledge. Expanding Networks. Shaping Futures, we are sharpening our focus and measuring success against clear, bold goals. Together, we are working toward:

• Increasing top-tier partnerships that will strengthen our academic and community impact.
• Representation from the Pee Dee’s top employers on every school’s advisory committee, ensuring our programs stay connected to regional workforce needs.
• Increasing unrestricted net income, as part of our commitment to financial strength.
• Growing our incoming full-time undergraduate non-athlete population to diversify the student body and reinforcing our mission.
• Ensuring that 100% of Coker graduates have workplace experience, making career readiness a hallmark of a Coker education.
• Expanding opportunities so that 30% of undergraduates earn a non-degree credential, giving students additional skills to stand out in today’s market.
• Achieving an increase in alternative revenue, reinforcing the adaptability and sustainability of our model.

We are already seeing momentum: enrollment growth, new revenue, expanding undergraduate research, remarkable growth in nursing, and a high level of faculty and staff engagement that sets us apart. Each of these reflects both financial health and personnel and programmatic resilience—two pillars of our future.

The challenges facing higher education remain real, but Coker’s story is one of resilience, intentionality, and inspiration. We are rowing together, charting our own path forward, and proving that when we focus on what matters most, as we change, we inspire—and as we inspire, we thrive.

I welcome your thoughts and engagement on these goals over the next three years. 

As always, Go Cobras!

Dr. Natalie J. Harder
President of Coker University